Slide assembly for machine tools



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 14, 1948. M. J. scHLlTTERs SLIDE ASSEMBLY FOR MACHINE TOOLS Filed Aug. 11, 1944 ATTO RNEYS L hl INVENTOR. MICHAEL .1. sHuTTERs MJJ. scHLlTTERs SLIDE ASSEMBLY FOR MACHINE TOOLS v sept. 14, 194s.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11, 1944 INVENTOR.

MIC HA EL .J. SCHLQTTERS "n I "mail, ATTORNEYS rocking or swaying of the tools or other Patented Sept. 14, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT tries t t 2,449,327 l l j SLIDE ASSEMBLY Fon MACHINE 'rooLs g Miene-e1 J. schutters, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. aspiieetienAugust 11, 1944, serial No. 549,095

This invention relates to machine tool slide assemblies and particularly screw machine slide assemblies.

I-'he slides of screw machines arerequiredto carry many diierent types of tools and to very accurately guide such tools in their approach to and retraction from the work and in their cutting operations. Frequently heavy stresses are imposed on said slides in the course of their travel, the `direction of such stresses varying considerably in diiferent tool operations. Consequently such slides and their guidesare subject to considerable wear, and it is necessary from time to time tov compensate for wear to avoid deviation from accurate rectilinear travel.` Itis to be noted in this connection that a slight lateral play of a slide in its guide ways is multiplied at rthe' cutting edge of the tool.

Objects of the invention are to `adapt wear to be taken up with `great accuracy by adjustment of a tapered gib installed upon and movable with a tool-carrying slide; to' correlate a guide rail with the slide and gib and to provide an improved means for adjusting the rail to take up lateral play of the slide. l

These and various` other objects are attained by the construction` hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

and its mounting.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same.`

l of the same taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 isv a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3 showing a `fully retracted position of a sliding wear-compensatlg gib.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the gib fully inserted. f

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View of a yoke, two of which are used in the construction. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective View o f said gib.

4In these views, the referencechara'cter 'I designates an elongated rectangular `slidehaving a plurality of undercut grooves 2 Aextended 'transversely across its top face to facilitate attachment lt'o the slide of any desired tool holder V(not shown). 'e sides 'of the slide are similarly grooved from end to end thereof toreceive ya pair of guide rails 3, the inner faces fof the rails "being often eonsiclerablyV 8 Claims.- (Cl. 308-3)` 30 Fig. 1 is 'a top plan view of the improved slide n and from the downwardly convergent,` preferably at d a sixty degree angle, and the rail-receiving grooves having inner faces i engageable by and conforming to the convergent rail faces. have horizontal top faces d' which seat on the rails andbottom facess inclined gradually upwardly from the rear to the front end of the slide. zontal, fand tapered gibs c extending substantially the full length of the slide areinserted The grooves further between such bottom faces and the groove faces 5, the bottom faces of the gibs being inclined to engage `and conform to thefaces 5. The relatively thick rear end of each gib rigidly carries a Idownwardly projecting lug l, the rear face of the slide having its lower corner portions cut away to form recesses 3 proportioned to accommodate'the lugs 1.

tures 9 to accommodate studs lil extending lengthwise "of the slide and set adjustably into its rear end.` Saidv gibs may be considered ad- `iustable, wear-compensating elements of l the slide on which they are carried. The studs l0 rigidly carry collars 'Il for abutting the front faces of the lugs 'l andfurther carry nuts t2 for locking the lugs against said collars and thus accurately maintaining any adjustment of the gibs. r4I'l'ieinrier edge faces of the gibs are vertical, and the rail-receiving grooves of the slide have vertical faces I3 extending downwardly fromvthe inclined faces lifor engagement by said edgev faces of the gibs.

the faces I3 is sufficient to still maintain proper engagement with the gibs when the latter are l in their fully inserted position.

Rows 'of headed studs It normallyclampthe rails rigidly down against the walls itl, and the studreceiving openings `il of at least one of the rails have a slight elongation transverseto the rails, whereby the latter may be adjusted slightly to slide as a further compensation ioi'wear. j l

For accurately effecting an inward adjustment of either or both `rails 3,'each or th-e` latter is formed in its under face with a cavity i8,` substantially Amid-way of the Vrail length, wherein is set a. yoke .19. having apertures` 2i! in its ends, whereby4 the .yoke is mounted `without .material The bottom faces of the rails are hori-` The latter have central aper- The vertical extent of play on two adjoined studs I6, being thus anchored to the support l5. The mid portion of the yoke forms an upward projection increasing the yoke thickness to accomodate a transverse opening 2i tapped to receive an adjusting screw 2 2. The rail is drilled to freely accommodate end portions of the screw 22, one such portion extending substantially to the outer face of the rail and having a socket or other provision for engagement by a wrench. Theother end portion of the screw is formed with an annular groove 23 in which is tangentially fitted a pin .24 xed in the rail, said pin allowing free rotation of the screw but restraining the latter from lengthwise movement. The described arrangement is such that a rotation applied to the screw 22 forces the corresponding rail to or from the slide, the yoke being restrained from shifting due to its mounting on the studs l5, and the screw 22 hence being fed through the yoke and transmitting its travel to the rail through the pin 24. It is, of course, necessary that the cavity `i3 be suflciently wider than the yoke I9 to afford the desired lateral shifting of the rail with respect to the yoke.

The described construction permits maintenance of an accurate guidance of the slide, which guidance, as heretofore stated, is vita1 to its use. When the vertical play of the slide becomes objectionable, the operator loosens the lock nuts l2, screws the studs a tentative distance inward and then forces the gibs in by means of the locknuts until the play is fully eliminated. Having established the proper positions of the gibs, the lugs are locked firmly between the collars H and nuts l2, being thus held in place. The very gradual taper of the gibs permits an essential nicety of adjustment, such as to afford the slide free travelv without deviation from straight line movement. If there is excessive lateral play of the slide due to wear at the inclined surfaces 4, compensation is made by loosening the clamping studs I6 of at least one of the Irails 3 and adjusting such rail inwardly. Such adjustment is effected by rotating the screw 22, the corresponding yoke I9 then acting as a feed nut for the screw and the pin 24 compelling the rail to participate in inward movement of the screw. The fact that the screws 22 are accurately disposed midway of the length of the rails assures that adjustment applied by said screws will uniformly take effect throughout the rail lengths, without tilting effect. l

Both described adjustments, one effected by the gibs and the other by the rails, may be quite quickly accomplished, it being feasible, however, to adjust the gibs somewhat more rapidly and conveniently than the rails. This is desirable since there is greater wear on the faces 4 than on the faces 4, and it is hence more frequently necessary to adjust the gibs than the rails.

Provision of the recesses 8 in the rear face of the slide l reduces the amount of rearward projection of the gibs beyond the -slide to a minimum. It is highly desirable to house in the gib so far as feasible to prevent it being damaged or doing damage through striking some part of the machine.

What I claim is:

1. In a slide assembly for machine tools, the combination with a slide, a support for the slide, a pair of guide rails on the support engaged with opposite sides of the slide, at least one of such rails being adjustable on the support to and from the slide, and means for releasably clamping. the adjustable rail to the support, of a feed nut housed within the adjustable guide rail, means for anchoring the feed nut to the support, an adjusting screw substantially transverse to the direction of travel of the slide and operatively engaging the feed nut, the adjustable rail being apertured to give access to said screw, and means connecting the adjustable rail to the screw to advance with the screw toward the slide.

2. A slide assembly for machine tools as set forth in claimv 1, said clamping means comprising a plurality of spaced fasteners, and said anchoring means for the feed nut including atleast one of said fasteners. 3. A slide assembly for machine tools as set forth' in claim 1, said clamping means comprising a plurality of spaced fasteners, and said feed nut being formed bythe mid portion of a yoke, said anchoring means for the feed nut including two ofsaid fasteners, engaged by the end portions of said yoke.

4. A slide assembly for machine tools as set forth in claim 1, the adjusting screw having'an annular groove, and the means connecting theV adjustable rail to the kscrew being a pin substantially fixed in such rail and extended tangentially through said annular groove.

5. In a slide assembly for machine tools, thief combination with a slide and a support forA the slide, of a pair of guide rails on the support engaged with opposite sides of the slide, at least one of such rails being adjustable on the support to and from the slide and having a cavity opening toward the support, a plurality of spaced fasteners for releasably clamping the adjustable rail to the support, a yyoke set into said cavity and having its ends anchored to two of saidfasteners, th'e mid portion of said yoke forming a -feed nut, an

adjusting screw substantially transverse to the the slide and operativelyv direction of travelof engaging the feed nut, said `screw having an extremity accessible for adjustment purposes, and means inducing movement of the rail in unison withlengthwise travel of the screw.

6. In a slide assembly for machine tools, the combination with a slide, a support for the slide, a pair of guide rails on the support engaged with opposite sides of the slide, at least one of such rails being adjustable on the support to and from the slide,A and a plurality of spaced fasteners releasably clamping the adjustable rail to the support, of an interengaged feed nut and feed screw, one thereof being an insert housed inl the adjustable rail and means for anchoring said insert to at least one of said fasteners, the other feed element being effective on the adjustable rail to advance it toward th'e slide responsive to a relative rotation of the screw and nut. v

7. A slide assembly for machine tools as set forth in claim 6, said screw extending substantially transversely to the direction of travel 4of the slide, and the adjustable rail having an opening accommodating said screw.

8. In a slide assembly for machine tools, the combination with a slide, a support for the slide, a pair of guide'rails on the support engaged with opposite sides of the slide, at least one of such' rails being adjustable on the support to and from the slide, and a plurality of spaced fasteners releasably clamping the adjustable rail to the support, of a pair of interengaged screw threaded members one of which is housed within the adjustable rail and disposed. between and anchored to two of said fasteners, the other of said mem-.- bers being effective on the adjustable rail to ads* d' Vance it toward the slide responsive to relative Number rotation of the threaded members. 555.372 MICHAEL J. SCHLITTERS. 1,225,726 1,337,921 REFERENCES CITED 5 1,435,016 The following references are of record in the 104,299 le of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 21340350 Number Name Date 10 206,648 Tucker July 30, 1878 

